L04E - Fishing

“Pesca” or Fishing is limited to waters that are not private areas. These areas will be clearly signposted and can only be accessed when authorisation is given by the owner. The Ministério da Agricultura, do Desenvolvimento Rural e das Pescas (Ministry for Agriculture and Fishing) has these tips to follow.

In August 2006 was approved a law that creates a fishing licence for amateur (or recreational) fishermen. This law intends to regulate the sports fishing, protecting this activity and ensuring that it remains mainly non-professional as well as to protect the species around the Portuguese coastline. 

Fishing is regulated in accordance with the laws in force (Decree law nº 112/2017 and ordinance nº 1102/2000 and nº115-B/2011) which imposed some conditions on sports fishing at lakes, beaches, cliffs and the sea, in mainland Portugal and its coastline. These conditions apply to all fishermen, with or without boats. Sports fishermen CANNOT exceed the amounts listed. The amounts apply to fish and all type of squid or octopus:

10 kg of fish per fisherman    

25 kg per boat with a crew of 3 or more  

In the case of underwater fishing:

• maximum catch of mussels (Mytilus spp.) is 3 kg

• maximum catch of oysters (Crassostrea spp) is 5 kg 

• maximum catch of Japanese clams is 5 kg 

• maximum catch of the set of organisms other than these, which are not fish or cephalopods, is 2 kg

If you have any questions regarding fishing and the new regulations, you can ask the question to the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services - DGRM email: dgrm@dgrm.mm.gov.pt or call +351 213 035 805 (between 10h-12h and 14h-16h). More information can be found HERE. 

The services will review the issue and send you an answer.

It became mandatory to have a licence for sport fishing. Foreign residents or visitors (non-residents) can only acquire the recreational fishing licence at the DGRM/ICNF branches (in person) or via the Bmar Portal. Documents requested: ID card (residency or passport) and NIF (Fiscal number). 

You will need a licence if you wish to do any of the following: 

a) Touristic fishing

b) Fishing from a boat

c) Snorkel / Diving fishing 

d) Any other non-professional fishing activities

There are licences valid for 7 days (16.81€), 1 month (22.45€) or 1 year  (56.07€ from January 1st to December 31st), but as far as a Tourist Fishing Licence is concerned, these can be done daily. For a one-day licence you should enquire with the boat owner as normally their licence covers all fishermen on the boat.

This law also mentions a few duties you should consider when you go fishing: 

1. If you are fishing from land there should be a distance of no less than 5 mts from the person fishing next to you, unless agreed otherwise, if you are fishing together for example

2. When the fishing is done from a boat, the boats should be apart at least by 50m

Fishing is completely forbidden in the following places:

a) Mouth of a river and its accesses

b) Access channels, proximity channels and narrow channels in ports

c) Any marked channel

d) Less than 100mts from docks, weather shelters, quays and shipyards 

e) Fishing ports and marinas

f) Supervised beaches, during summer season, at less than 300 m from the coastline

g) Any place at less than 100 m from any sewer area

Fishing without a licence can result in significant fines. Penalties vary depending on factors such as location and whether it is the first offense. For concrete risks, lighter fines can vary between 30€ and 300€. However, more serious infractions can cost 301€ to 3000€. Additionally, you may face confiscation of fishing equipment, revocation of other existing licences, and prohibition from obtaining future licences.

You can consult the recreational fishing calendar and the minimum sizes of catches of the species on the ICNF portal. 

Always respect the area; don’t leave rubbish and always tidy your area before leaving. 

Respect safety when fishing, don’t take unnecessary risk.